Selling Land That is Part of Your Home

• Posted on April 24, 2008
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If a taxpayer sells the land on which their main home is located but not the home itself, the taxpayer generally cannot exclude the gain from the sale of the land with one exception. The exclusion would apply to the sale or exchange of vacant land that the taxpayer owned and used as part of his principal residence, if the disposition of the dwelling unit occurs within two years before or after the disposition of the vacant land. The vacant land must be adjacent to land containing the dwelling unit, and the sale or exchange of the vacant land must otherwise meet the qualifications for exclusion. In addition, the excluded gain cannot exceed the amount that would be allowed had the properties been sold in one sale.